Youth athletes are under increasing pressure these days to start a
strength or resistance training program at an early age. But while it
may be generally true that greater strength leads to better performance,
the same cannot be said for athletes before the age of puberty. This
is because children are, well, children, not mini-adults. Because the
growth plates at the end of the major bones in a child's arms and legs
are open, their muscles and bones are still developing, and because
their hormone levels aren't the same as adults, an intense strength and conditioning program is inappropriate before skeletal maturity.

Strength and conditioning training goals

While there is little debate that "too much" strength and conditioning
training at a young age is counterproductive, a light strength training
regimen is okay, even at young ages, for three reasons:

To satisfy the athlete's psychological need to maximize
performance;

To develop movement patterns that allow an athlete to maximize
skills and muscle force while laying a proper foundation for the
future.

To educate a young athlete on proper strength training techniques.

Culture creates psychological need

There is an unfortunate belief in youth sports that more and earlier are
better. More and more young athletes are specializing
in
a single sport at an early age, playing sports year-round with
taking a season off to let the body rest and recover, and incorporating
into their training techniques that are designed and only appropriate
for professional athletes.

It isn't likely that the youth sports culture is going to change any
time soon, if ever. It therefore may be better to allow young athletes
to participate strength and conditioning training as nod to the culture
and to satisfy a perceived psychological need for more training and
focusing instead on making sure that the training is limited and age-
and developmentally-appropriate.

An exercise program that includes un-weighted squats, lunges, push-ups,
and pull ups, and strength routines for abdominal, lower back, and
cardiovascular training
can all promote strong core stability in the body without posing
significant risk of injury to a child's growing body. At the same time,
parents and coaches should try to keep young athletes from rushing into
the gym to participate in Olympic lifting, heavy bench pressing, and a
dozen set of biceps curls that can lead to overuse injuries and the
development of bad training techniques.

Developing good training habits

A light resistance or strength and conditioning program can help young
athletes develop good training habits early in their sports career that
will make it more likely they will be active adults. Conversely, an
athlete can get into bad habits without proper guidance. As a child
progresses in sports, these "good" or "bad" movement patterns translate
to success in throwing, hitting, catching, running, jumping, etc.

As athletes learn a task, such as throwing, the brain completes a "trial
and error" method with every toss. The body essentially attempts to
find the most efficient way to throw, while producing desired results
(e.g. throwing faster, farther, and more accurately). Strength training that
trains a child's neuromuscular system can therefore be beneficial, so long as it is not too intense.

An exercise, such a walking lunge, helps a child develop lower quarter
strength and stamina with repetitions. Done appropriately, the exercise
leads to better balance and increased core strength, both of which
benefit a young athlete, regardless of the sport he is playing.
Conversely, performing the exercise improperly (e.g. leaning
significantly to one side, which usually is the result of trying to do
the exercise too fast), can imprint bad movement patterns. The
development of such patterns can lead to problems down the road, as a
young athlete's skeleton matures and his body can handle more muscle,
strength, and power.

Parents: caught in the middle

Thus, educating athletes, parents, and coaches about age- and
developmentally-appropriate strength training is critical. Too often,
athletes are influenced by what they see their older siblings doing or
what they see on YouTube. Coaches will go to clinics where
ex-professionals demonstrate their workout routines and preach how their
particular training regimen contributed to their success. Parents can
get caught in the middle between young athletes begging for a gym
membership and coaches who claim to be the experts.

What everyone needs to always keep in mind is that the purpose of
strength training is to maximize performance while reducing risk of
injury. Too often, coaches and athletes are short-sighted in their
approach to strength training, only looking at the immediate benefits.
If a ten year old starts doing heavy sports training exercises, such as
power squats and dead lifting, there will likely be immediate benefits.
The athlete will demonstrate a little more power, speed, and general
aptitude for their sport, such as hitting a baseball harder. While good
in the short term, regular and escalating adherence to this workout
philosophy slowly increases the risk of injury and exposure of growing
body parts to damage. In the end, a young athlete peaks at 14 years old
and begins to break down fast while in high school.

Appetizer, not main course

Again, keep in mind that the purpose of strength training in sports is
to maximize performance while reducing risk of injury. Too often, the
reducing risk of injury part is not highlighted enough because
maximizing performance offers more immediate gratification. Remembering
and working to achieve the three goals of youth strength training
discussed above (psychological, neurological, and educational) are far
more important than gaining muscle mass. As a child ages,his bones and
muscles mature and be better able to handle the increased stress a heavy
strength training program places on his body. Focusing only on the
benefits of the now may end up putting the future potential of an
athlete at serious risk.

In the end, strength and conditioning training is more of a youth sports
appetizer adjunct to youth sports, not the main course. Keep the focus
on the fun and utilize age appropriate training and the young athletes
of today have a chance to become the sports stars of tomorrow.

Keith J. Cronin is a physical therapist in the St. Louis, Missouri
area and a MomsTeam expert.